Vienna/Budapest suggestions ?

[doc_bean]

Since i'm leaving for Vienna at the end of the week and will be in Budapest (hopefully) at the end of next week, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestion about what to see in those cities. I only have a good day in each, so i don't want to waste to much time deciding what to do...

[King Henry V]

Well I'm in Vienna right now, so I would recommend going to the Wien Stadthistorisches Museum on the Karlsplatz for a good place about the history of Vienna. I'm also going myself to the Military History Museum at the end of the week which is at the Arsenal. Budapest is a lovely city, although a bit sad because although there are many beautiful neo-classical buildings around, 50 years of communism has badly neglected them. For the day I would recommend going aroun the Castle Hill on Buda, which contain many of the most historical of Budapest's sights.

[Kaiser of Arabia]

Vienna isn't all that far frome quite a few Napoleonic battlefields, if you're interested in that sort of stuff, go for it.

[King Henry V]

Actually many of the battlefields aren't fields any more, places like Wagram and Aspern-Essling have just been absorbed into the great concrete sprawl of Vienna.

[Brutus]

If you're interested in the old Imperial regalia of the Holy Roman Empire, go visit the Schatzkammer in the Hofburg in Vienna. Personally I thought Schönbrunn palace was worth a visit as well, as you can see the places where Franz Jozef lived. (I think the place was worth a visit more then most French palaces in which they've just thrown a bunch of furniture together. Schönbrunn actually seems to be 'just abandoned'). However, Schönbrunn is quite a tram-ride away from the city centre, so you might want to stick to the many Hofburg musea or some of the churches in the city centre, like the Stephansdom. In Budapest, be sure to visit the old 'castle' in Buda (south bank of the Danube). Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time when I was there myself to go and visit the most interesting sites, but the impression I got was one of a beautiful city.